Compleat Angler: Part Three Novel - Fly-Fishing the River Frome

Colin M Jarman's continuation fly-fishing novel set in May 2000 on the Dorset Frome ... following on from the original "Compleat Angler" of Izaak Walton & Charles Cotton.

Pre-orders currently being taken ahead of an October 2026 publication date.

NOVEL OVERVIEW

What if the most celebrated fishing book ever written has been hiding a secret

that literary scholars have overlooked for nearly four centuries?

Set along the tranquil, sunlit banks of the Dorset Frome, this wickedly funny novel wades into the murky waters of literary history and surfaces dripping with outrageous discoveries, comic misadventures, and two misfit fly-fishermen who stand toe-to-toe, eye-to-eye, and go head-to-head in an escalating series of outlandish angling adventures.

Part literary mystery, part fishing farce, but particularly irresistible, this is the book Izaak Walton would have written if he had possessed a sense of humour, considerably less pomposity … and didn’t have a stick up his assiduous backside !

As legendary fishing companions Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton become the unlikely subjects of a bold modern reimagining, prepare to be swept downstream into a fast-moving current of shocking twists and long-buried truths about the original two-part Compleat Angler, one of the most reprinted books in the entire English language.

The story - set in May 2000 - masterfully blends historical intrigue with laugh-out-loud comedy, weaving together the pastoral charm of the English countryside, the spiritual obsession that defines fly-fishing culture, and a mind-blowing literary whodunnit that will leave book lovers and seasoned anglers alike gasping at what has been hiding in plain sight for over three hundred years.

A brilliant companion novel to the author's ground-breaking reimagined editions of the original 17th-century fishing manuals, this novel is the perfect read for fly-fishing enthusiasts, devotees of literary fiction, and anyone who has ever suspected that the classics are quietly keeping secrets. Whether you come for the fish, the fun or the findings, you will absolutely stay for the shocking revelations.

Tighten your ferrules, double-check your knots, match the hatch and hold on … because this one will run long and deep.

The “Da Vinci Code” meets “A River Runs Through It” meets “C.S.I.”

Official website for pre-orders: TheCompleatAngler.net